New jointer - Snipe problems?

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for the quick responses!

My outfeed table is all the way up. So, I guess I will have to lower my infeed table.
I have the stick adjuster, no wheel.

Yes, as mentioned there is a travel stop. Infeed adjustment will not help. The outfeed has to be (arguably) level with TDC of the cutterhead. More jointer problems are caused by random adjustments without understanding the base problem. Beware. Do not go into alignment land casually. Jointers are very simple machines but, like bandsaws, folks seem to be able to complicate them terribly. Please see page 46 of your manual.

[Warren Lake]

how can your outfeed be all the way up, it cant be.

The machine has set knives in the head so no adjustment there. Your snipe while hard to tell from a photo looks to be about .015 -.025 which is lots. Put a feeler gauge in the snipe, it will tell you. There is a you tube for those machines though didnt watch it all.

You dont need to start messing around with it with a straight edge and all. Just raise the outfeed a tiny bit and see that there is less snipe, then raise it a tiny bit more till snipping stops. If you want to check it better then edge joint two boards 30" long or more and put them face to face and see what you get. If you get a hollow then you have raised the outfeed too far.


It was either set right at the factory or not, or something changed in shipping. If you do above and your technique is okay you should be fine. If not and more is going on then you can venture into straight edge land.

[Nick Mazzino]

Thanks all for the quick replies. I believe I have the face jointed problem worked out.
However, now I am having problems edge jointing. See pictures below. Both pictures are from the same board. But, they are not matching up.

My fence is square to both my infeed and outfeed tables. I thought maybe it was my technique. But I have tried varying amounts of pressure.

Sorry if these are amateur questions. I am relatively new to woodworking and this is my first time setting up a jointer.

Any thoughts on what to try here? I have been watching some set up videos and it looks like I have everything correct.

IMG_0910.jpgIMG_0909.jpg

[Kevin Jenness]

It's hard to tell from your photos just what the problem is. Are those pictures of opposite ends of two jointed boards mated edge to edge, tight at one end and open at the other? Is the joint twisted, tight along one face and open at one end on the other face, which could indicate poor technique? Or are the edges convex, tight at one end and gapped at the other, which would indicate the outfeed table is high?

Start with the basics. Flatten one face on your test boards, putting pressure on the outfeed once an initial flat is established and removing all the rough saw marks. Are the resulting surfaces flat on the outfeed table on all four corners and in the middle? If not, it's possible the outfeed table is not parallel to the cutterhead. That would require some painstaking setup work to correct. If the surfaces are flat, mark them and joint the edges with the marked faces against the fence. Offer the edges up against each other. If the edges are banana shaped or the stock rides out of the cut, the outfeed table is too high. If the joints are straight but twisted you must not be keeping the faces tight against the fence.

Jointers are about the simplest machine in the shop and yet the most frustrating and demanding to set up correctly. The good news is that unless the tables are grossly out of flat you can adjust them to be coplanar with each other and the cutterhead and once set should stay that way. Best case, it's a matter of getting the outfeed height exactly right and using proper technique. Good luck.

[Bill Dufour]

Nick jointer dilemma



If you raise the arbor bearings you will only exacerbate the condition. The cutter head has to go down or the outfeed table needs to go up. The reason for the snipe is that after the wood passes past the infeed table, it is only supported by the out feed table. This allows the wood to drop deeper into the knives and cut deeper, thus the snipe.
You maybe able to see the upstop, or stops and if possible file a couple of thou off. Or, as mentioned earlier you might need to raise the outfeed table and still maintain it being coplanar.
You can also check out the web for some visual guidance. One view is setting up a General, and of course Mark Spagnola sp? goes over his Powermatic jointer.

In any case it will be a good learning experience, however if you opted for the spiral cutterhead you'll only have to set it up once.
Ed

You are correct. I was thinking backwards. Sounds like he got it a bit higher on the outfeed so that issue is resolved.

[Mel Fulks]

Another I don't know what I'm seeing. Is that a piece of oak sitting on a piece of construction 2 x 4 ?

[Nick Mazzino]

Sorry, I should have provided some additional details. The picture is two boards edge jointed edge to edge that is tight at one end with a gap at the other end.

I will try adjusting the outfeed table height and if that doesn't work re calibrate everything as you indicated.

Jointers definitely are the most frustrating and seems to be the most important because it is the starting point of everything. Without square stock you are behind the 8 ball before you even start.

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated!

[Nick Mazzino]

Mel, yes that is a piece of either oak or ash and a 2x4. Just some scrap I had laying around to test with. Should I not use the 2x4 for these purposes and only hardwood?

[Mel Fulks]

Need to see whole length of boards. One pic looks like one board is levitated. That's interesting but not helpful.

[Warren Lake]

poor photos but more so dirty material wreck your knives before anything else

[Bill Dufour]

I see a split on the right hand end of the 2x4. That may have opened or closed during or after jointing. Cut off that portion and do it again.
It looks okay to me if you ignore the part at the split.
Bil lD.